1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to overheated steam ovens and, more particularly, to an overheated steam oven which is suitable for home use by simplifying a construction and reducing a size of the overheated steam oven.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, to cook foods, the foods may be roasted by heat, such as in a gas oven, steamed by vapor, such as in a steaming vessel, or boiled with water, such as in a cooking vessel. Also, there are methods to cook foods using microwaves, far infrared rays, and overheated steam, etc.
Cooking using the gas ovens may heat foods relatively evenly, but negatively affect a taste of the foods due to oxidation which results from contact with oxygen in air. Cooking using vapor requires plenty of water, and as a result, the foods may be insipid due to water absorption into the foods during cooking. Using cooking vessels may cause foods to be burnt by excessively heating a part of the foods. Using microwaves or far infrared rays, requires that the foods be rotated due to fixed radiating directions of the microwaves or the far infrared rays. Furthermore, controlling a temperature and moisture of the foods is difficult as the foods may easily dry during cooking. In other words, appropriately cooking foods requires that the cooking apparatuses evenly heat the foods at suitable temperatures. However, using the above-mentioned conventional cooking methods, makes satisfactory cooking conditions difficult to maintain.
Cooking using overheated steam is a method in which overheated steam is discharged into a cooking cavity. Since cooking using overheated steam evenly heats foods, the foods tend to not suffer partial burns, and an appropriate cooking temperature is easily controlled. This is accomplished by controlling a volume of the discharged overheated steam. Also, since oxidation of foods does not occur, while cooking with overheated steam, overheated steam ovens have an advantage in that cooked foods taste better.
However, conventional cooking apparatuses using the overheated steam include a cooking cavity to contain foods therein, a steam boiler to generate the overheated steam, a water tank to supply water into the steam boiler, and a plurality of steam pipes to discharge the overheated steam generated by the steam boiler into the cooking cavity. Hence, cooking apparatuses are complex and costly. Accordingly, the conventional cooking apparatuses using overheated steam are both difficult to use at home and in a wide open establishment, as in a large restaurant for business. Also, in the conventional overheated steam cooking apparatuses, the overheated steam generated by the steam boiler is discharged into the cooking cavity through the steam pipes, resulting in increased heat loss.